Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris

The endorsement, announced Friday (Jul 26) morning in a video showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple,

Former US president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats.

The endorsement, announced Friday (Jul 26) morning in a video showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris continues to build momentum as the party’s likely nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse his second-in-command against Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump.

It also highlights the friendship and potentially historic link between the nation's first black president and the first woman and first person of Asian descent to serve as vice president, who is now vying to break those same barriers at the presidential rank.

“We called to say Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,” the former president told Harris, who is shown taking the call as she walks backstage at an event, trailed by a Secret Service agent.

Said Michelle Obama, “I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl, Kamala, I am proud of you.

“This is going to be historic,” she added.

Harris, who has known the Obamas since before his election in 2008, thanked them for their friendship and said she looks forward to “getting there, being on the road” with them in the three-month blitz before Election Day on Nov 5.